Derek Hunter to coach Mitchell girls basketball team

Derek Hunter, leading the BTW girls basketball team in 1998, won his 90th championship as a coach of various prep sports.

The Commercial Appeal files

Derek Hunter says he's retiring. Sort of.

On Friday, Hunter, the longtime Memphis-area girls basketball coach, was announced as the new coach at Mitchell High. He'll retire from the Shelby County schools system as a teacher on May 23 due to persistent back issues, but those issues will not prevent him from being able to coach.

"I am very grateful for the opportunities I have been given to mold the lives of so many young ladies at my previous two schools (Central and Booker T. Washington)," Hunter said in an e-mail. "It has been an incredible journey.

"Too many times success in coaching is measured by wins and losses. ... But those are not the things I cherish most. It's things like a mother calling you because her daughter has dropped one of her contacts down the drain of their sink and you have to take the drain pipe off to recover it. It's buying more pizza and hamburgers and giving more rides than I care to remember."

Hunter -- who did not coach this past season -- is the all-time career victories leader in Shelby County girls basketball, with 722 in 32 seasons. He's also coached cross-country and track and his teams have combined to win over 100 city, league, district and regional championships.